New televisions at CES 2014 (pictures)

New giant screen TVs from the biggest manufacturers are must-see items this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

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Big screen TVs at CES 2014

LAS VEGAS -- CES is often the launching pad where top-name television companies make their biggest announcements for their latest product lines. CES 2014 is no different, with all of the big names have press events that show off their latest wares, including Sony, Panasonic, LG, Toshiba, and many others.

LG's LCD lineup

LG's core LCD lineup will have eight new LED LCDs and 25 new models overall, with more than half of them using WebOS, the interface it bought from Hewlett-Packard that it is touting for its simplified features this year.

LG LB7100 and LB7200 series

LG's top 1080p LCD televisions for the coming year are the LB7100 and LB7200 series, which feature all of the company's best LCD technologies. These include local dimming, private listening via your phone, and an upgraded Magic Remote.

Toshiba L8400U

Samsung's bendable 85-inch TV

Samsung is whole-hog into curved TVs at CES 2014, introducing two series of concave TVs you'll be able to buy this year.

But its new concept "bendable" TV takes it a step further. Press a button on the remote control and small servos behind the screen spring into action, bending the edges out into that soon-to-be-familiar curved shape. A second button-press and the process reverses, flattening the screen into the same shape as your current HDTV.

Vizio RS120

TV makers routinely boast about picture quality, but when a claim like "Best TV in the World" comes from a company like Vizio -- best known for its bargain boob tubes -- it seems especially far-fetched.

The television in question is the Vizio Reference Series 120, all-new for 2014. The company is announcing 65- and 120-inch versions at CES 2014. The latter is the largest shipping TV announced this year, beating out Samsung's 110-inch S9.

XBR-X950B is Sony's best 4K offering

We're fans of the effect of local dimming, an LED LCD backlight technology that dims particular parts of the screen to improve contrast, the single most important picture quality factor. The X950B series promises some of the best dimming technology around.

LG PN6900 - Plasma

It’s a lonely year for plasma in 2014 with only Samsung and LG producing models after Panasonic announced it was withdrawing to concentrate on LCD.

The PN6900 may be LG’s best plasma but is far from top of the range. For example, the PN6900 is one of only three models which will feature the company’s older Netcast smart technology now that LG has now moved on to webOS . The other two are the PB6600 plasma and the LB5800 LCD. It also appears the television misses out on a magic motion remote which would also limit its flexibility.